Democratic Socialists and #MAGA Candidates Both See Wins In Tuesday Elections: Reason Roundup

ARCHIE CARPENTER/UPI/NewscomNo simple narratives from Tuesday primaries. Voters in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nebraska, and Oregon held primaries yesterday. “The realities of a complex array of races with their own local dynamics defy the construction of pat narratives,” writes Matthew Yglesias. But while no easy and overarching narratives emerged, there were a few notable results from Tuesday’s votes:

Socialist women win in Pennsylvania. Two candidates running as part of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won challenges against more traditional Democrats for seats on the state legislature. The “pair of first-time candidates…knocked off two incumbent state legislators from a well-established Pittsburgh political family,” notes Yglesias. “Both Dom and Paul Costa, the incumbent losers, were on the conservative side of modern Democratic Party politics but also seemingly well-entrenched.” Taking their place in the general election will be Sarah Innamorato and Summer Lee.

Berniecrat with biker vibe beats out incumbent.John Fetterman, mayor of the small Pennsylvania town of Braddock, won over incumbent lieutenant governor Mike Stack. Fetterman—whom NBC Philadelphia’s Brian X. McCrone describes as “a progressive Democrat who received Bernie Sanders’ endorsement but looks like he just walked out of a biker bar”—will now serve as incumbent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s running mate in November’s general election, with Republicans Scott Wagner and Jeff Bartos as their opponents.

The office of lieutenant governor “itself is not particularly powerful or significant,” writes Yglesias, “but it does provide a statewide platform from which to run for higher office—either governor or senator—and consequently we are going to end up hearing more about John Fetterman in years to come.”